Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye
With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages.
Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down.
Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.
On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.
F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!). We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.
Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey. The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.
A Jolt of Higher Rates
Electricity and other energy rates in California are going up. That much we know.
How much are they going up? Ahh, that’s what we don’t know. In fact, we have no idea.
The California Energy Commission has projected electricity will cost 26 percent to 42 percent more by 2020. But it could go much higher. Or maybe lower. Nobody knows.
With that uncertain backdrop, an umbrella group last week put out a report that tried to “initiate a dialogue” on the presumed higher energy costs and their effects on the economy. It focused on the cumulative impact of California’s three big environmental initiatives – the mandate that electric utilities get 33 percent of their power from renewable sources, the carbon cap-and-trade auction and the low carbon fuel standard. (more…)
Following Prop. 30’s Trail to Nevada
Anecdotal, yes, but a news report indicates that warnings made during the Prop 30 campaign last year are playing out – higher taxes are sending some Californians across the state line to Nevada.
Under the headline, California Rich Seek Nevada Tax Haven, in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the article says that Californians accounted for 43 percent of the 288 sales so far this year in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. More to the point, an Incline Village real estate broker reports that of the 39 sales on Nevada shores of Lake Tahoe to Californians since the beginning of the year, 15 buyers, forty percent of the total, specifically said they moved to Nevada to escape the Prop. 30 tax hikes. (more…)
Legislature Should Not Stand in the Way of California’s Second Gold Rush
With oil prices at record highs and energy costs ever increasing and unemployment still through the roof, Californians are demanding the production of more affordable, alternative energy sources right here in the Golden State.
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to do just that through the process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” When you consider that the expansion of fracking has the potential to significantly boost our economy, it seems like a no brainer for California to tap into what is estimated to be the largest oil reserve in the United States.
During the “fracking” process, oil and natural gases that have been entombed for millions of years in shale rock formations are unleashed as water is tunneled into the earth at a high pressure. (more…)
Southern California’s Road Back
If the prospects for the United States remain relatively bright – despite two failed administrations – how about Southern California? Once a region that epitomized our country’s promise, the area still maintains enormous competitive advantages, if it ever gathers the wits to take advantage of them.
We are going to have to play catch-up. I have been doing regional rankings on such things as jobs, opportunities and family-friendliness for publications such as Forbes and the Daily Beast. In most of the surveys, Los Angeles-Orange County does very poorly, often even worse than much-maligned Riverside and San Bernardino. For example, in a list looking at “aspirational cities” – that is places to move to for better opportunities – L.A.-Orange County ranked dead last, scoring well below average in everything from unemployment to job creation, congestion and housing costs relative to incomes. (more…)
It’s Football Season – Remember to Read that Helmet Warning!
There may be no better time of the year than the start of football season. The rivalries, the tailgate parties and the discussion of liability issues are what I look forward to every year. I am sure that back in 1892 when William “Pudge” Heffelfinger signed a $500 contract to play with the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, he was not handed a liability waiver.
But more than 100 years later, litigation has become a fact of life in football, especially for helmet manufacturers. In April, a jury in Colorado ordered Riddell, a manufacturer of helmets, to pay $3.1 million in damages to a 22-year old man who sustained a head injury in 2008 while playing high school football. Notably, the jury did not find that Riddell’s helmets were defective, just that the company did not adequately warn players wearing its helmets about the dangers of potential head trauma. (more…)
Hearing Uncovered Abuse of CA Special Funds
Only in government is borrowing considered a legitimate way to balance a budget. In California it has become standard operating procedure.
To address this growing problem, the state’s Special Funds were the subject of a hearing last week in the Legislature, which I attended. The 500-plus special funds have been routinely raided over the last several years to “balance” the state budget. The now-preferred budget gimmick is to shift “special funds” into the general fund in order to call the budget “balanced.”
The Senate Budget Committee conducted the oversight hearing to review this practice, but only covered what amounted to less than 0.5 percent of the $4.6 billion in special funds that have been raided over the last several years. (more…)